McRae sends special message to Hill before Pies head west

Coach Craig McRae says Bobby Hill will always be welcome at Collingwood despite the troubled star looking to cut short his contract.Hill was the hero of the Magpies' 2023 premiership under McRae, winning the Norm Smith Medal after a four-goal grand final showing against Brisbane.But taking stretches of personal leave, the 26-year-old small forward has not played for almost a year and is unlikely to wear Collingwood colours again.With the club and Hill's management dealing with the issue of a contract that runs until the end of 2030, McRae said he was more concerned for Hill's wellbeing, and sent a message of support."I haven't seen Bobby in the building for a while … if you're out there, Bobby, we've got a lot of love and care for you, we'll never waver in our love and support for the young man," McRae said."And then the other part is completely out of my hands, conversations around management and other things, so I'll leave others to do those things."He's a premiership player, and Norm Smith medallist, and he'll forever be welcome in our four walls."McRae was speaking ahead of the Magpies' clash with Adelaide on Thursday night, which he expected to have a finals-like atmosphere.The teams squared off in a qualifying final at Adelaide Oval last year, with Collingwood triumphant by 24 points."We've got some good memories, that game last year, the final, a big crowd there, it was a highlight of the year for me and the team. It was a huge game, and we played the ground well," he said."We anticipate this game to be like a final; big crowd and we're anticipating a big game."The Magpies had only a five-day turnaround between games but surprised McRae with their training intensity, which meant he was unlikely to rest any veteran players, including Scott Pendlebury.Gun midfielder Josh Daicos skipped training with an ankle injury but is expected to be available, while defender Jeremy Howe is also set to be named after overcoming a calf injury."We trained today, and we played Saturday night, and if you watch training you go, 'No way that group just played three days ago,'" he said."There's a huge energy in the building right now … at this stage, I don't think we've got a reason to rest too many players or manage players."AAP